Virginia Beach City Public Schools

Princess Anne, Ocean Lakes seniors receive national recognition

It’s no wonder that Princess Anne High School seniors Sumedha Deshmukh and John Marken and Ocean Lakes senior Alexander Skidmore are 2013 candidates in the Presidential Scholars Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. These community-minded students not only excel at academics, but at inspiring others as well.

Deshmukh serves as city-wide SCA Vice President where she is active in outreach programs. She has worked with leadership workshops at Old Donation Center, Kemps Landing Magnet School and Princess Anne. Enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program at Princess Anne, Deshmukh volunteers with Sentara Hospital and interned last summer with Physicians for Peace, a group that sponsors health care teams in underserved regions of the world. Deshmukh to concentrate on global health issues in her college studies.

Marken is enrolled in the IB program and is a current member of the Fabulous Marching Cavaliers band, playing clarinet in the concert band and saxophone in the jazz band. He attended the Middle Years Program at Plaza Middle School. Active in volunteering at St. Michael Lutheran Church, Marken is a member of both the National Honor Society and the Science Honor Society. He plans to study sciences in college, perhaps in the area of genetics.

Skidmore is a native of the Tidewater area, having lived in both Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He attended Norfolk Academy until the tenth grade and then joined Ocean Lakes High School as a junior where he has been a key player on the football team. He plans to attend Duke University in the fall, studying Biomedical Engineering with the hopes of continuing on to medical school. He currectly lives in Virginia Beach with his parents, and has an older sister who graduated from NYU and currently is an actress in New York City.

VERY proud of John Marken! It may sound cliche, but he gives 100% to everything he does. An outgoing young man who is polite and kind to anyone he meets. I am happy and confident that he will play an important part of our futures!

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